Verizon just announced a new partnership with Boingo. And the purpose of this partnership is to fix the biggest problem with 5G.
Here’s a quick explanation of why 5G is slower inside. Verizon is using millimeter wave or mmWave for its 5G network. This is a much higher frequency than 4G LTE uses. That means it has much faster speeds and more bandwidth, but coverage is much smaller. Things like trees and walls can get in the way and slow things down.
This is why all those 5G speed tests are done outside and near the tower or the node. And not inside, away from the node.
But with this partnership with Boingo, that is going to change.
Boingo, who you probably know from the WiFi at your airport (free and/or paid, depending on the airport), is going to be using its “distributed antenna systems (DAS), small cells and WiFi” to help Verizon’s 5G network. And it’s going to bring it to more public spaces. This includes airports, stadiums, hotels and more.
Basically, places that are going to need all that extra bandwidth.
Verizon and Boingo are working on a “hyper-dense network” for those indoor spaces. Verizon isn’t giving any further details right now though, expect that to come in the near future.
Even though details are still sparse right now, it’s good to see that Verizon is taking steps to fix the biggest problem with 5G right now. Even if it does turn out to be just “5G-branded WiFi”. With Boingo’s experience in getting WiFi working across the massive terminals that most airports have these days, it definitely sounds like we could get some much faster and better 5G coverage inside, in the near future.
Verizon is also announcing its tenth 5G city, which is going to go live tomorrow, August 23. That city is Phoenix.
It’ll be joining Washington DC, Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis, Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, Providence, and St. Paul, which are already live.
As was the case with the other cities, don’t expect 5G to be blanketing Phoenix when it goes live tomorrow. It will be in very small parts of the city, and this is because Verizon is actually announcing these cities as it starts to light up. So even though it’s only covering a very small area, Verizon wants to get people onto the network. This is the easiest way to get people testing the network and making sure it can withhold everyone.
Finally, in related 5G news. The Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G is going to be launching at Verizon tomorrow. Making it the third 5G device, and fifth 5G compatible device (there are two Motorola smartphones that are 5G compatible with a Moto Mod, also being sold by Verizon).